Eleven categories were announced Thursday morning in Los Angeles. Seth McFarland, who is hosting the Oscars made the live announcement along with Emma Stone, presumably for an opportunity to plug "Gangster Squad," which opens this weekend.

The biggest snubs were in the director category -- both Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck were shut out, and both had been considered locks. "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty" both received Best Picture and Screenplay nominations. Indie favorite "Beasts of the Southern Wild" performed unexpectly well with four nominations, including one big surprise nomination for director Ben Zeitlin.